Sunday, January 01, 2012

The "Unofficial" Best Films of 2011


2011 is at an end as everyone is posting their year-end list of the best films of 2011. Well, these lists for me are never-ending as there's a lot of films that haven't been seen and all of that. There's still a bunch of films I'm trying to see as some haven't arrived in Atlanta just yet. Here are the films I'm trying to see that are playing in theaters right now or are set to arrive in theaters in the coming weeks: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, The Artist, A Dangerous Method, Carnage, and A Separation.

Then there's foreign film titles like The Kid with a Bike, Once Upon a Time in Antola, and Turn Me On, Dammit! plus whatever possible foreign film Oscar nominees that I want to see. There's also Le Havre that I want to see and some other 2011 films that I've missed out.

Among the films of 2011 that I'm eager to see are: Win, Win, The Future, Senna, Attack the Block, Bellflower, Into the Abyss, Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Interrupters, Rampart, Beats, Rhymes, and Life, Rango, Terri, Project Nim, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

I've thought about putting Like Crazy, Another Earth, and Restless in there but considering the lukewarm reviews it has received. I'd rather wait till they arrive on TV. Beginners and Meek's Cutoff I know have been in some 2011 lists but since they've played festivals in 2010, I consider them to be 2010 films. There's a downside for me when it comes to these lists as I consider myself to be a perfectionist when I do these things. So the list you're going to see is an unofficial list. Until I catch up with all of the good films of 2011, I will create an official and "final" list. Here is the Unofficial 25 Films of 2011... so far:
















8. Hugo





11. 50/50












23. Hanna




There isn't going to be a worst films list as I don't consider Sucker Punch nor Cars 2 to be among the worst films of that year. I will say that of the 2011 films that I was able to see on TV. Films like The Roommate, Just Go with It, Hall Pass, and Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son are pretty much far worse than the mediocre films I went to see in 2011. Yet, I don't think any of those films will be as a bad as something like Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star, Transformers 3, Green Lantern, or anything else that is from Adam Sandler or Michael Bay. Next time, if a film I want to see is playing nearby that is getting pretty lukewarm reviews. I better make sure I see something else with it that is very good.

Well, that's pretty much all I have to say for now. I'll have another 2011 list once I am able to catch up on everything else that was out worldwide and make a definitive list as well as do one for 2010 that I didn't get a chance to do.

13 comments:

Diana said...

Great list, it seems Tree of Life is getting a lot of love from the critics and from the bloggers! It's nice to see Shame there, I can't wait to watch it in January! Have a great 2012!

Mette said...

Love, love, love that you chose The Tree of Life as your #1 - so many people don't like it, but it had such a big impact on me!

thevoid99 said...

It is a polarizing film but there is nothing like it right now or anything in film these days.

Unknown said...

I've only seen half of your top 10, but I agree with most of the choices there if not the exact ordering.

thevoid99 said...

@Aziza-Thank you. I should note that it's not an official list and once I catch up with every other 2011 film. It's likely that the list will change.

@Bonjour-Lists tend to change as I made some changes due to what I probably felt about the film and such. They're never easy to make and there's still stuff I need to see like Tyrannosaur, Alps, and a bunch of foreign stuff.

Courtney Small said...

I am hoping Shame expands a bit more in the coming weeks. It is playing here but it is a bit out of the way for me, same goes for Take Shelter. I am also counting the days until We Need to Talk About Kevin opens here. Super excited about that film. Lastly, I am slowly softening up to Tree of Life a bit more, I need to watch it a few more times though.

thevoid99 said...

@CS-I was able to see Take Shelter on the last weekend it played while Shame was starting its run in that same theater. Both are must-sees. Especially We Need to Talk About Kevin. There's still a bunch of films I want to see along with those that weren't able to get any major distributors like Alps from the guy who did Dogtooth.

Castor said...

We have a pretty similar list... if you take out the movies I have yet to see lol ;) Glad to see The Tree of Life at #1, great minds think alike as they say.

thevoid99 said...

@Castor-I really can't think of any film that deserves to be #1 more than that one.

Still, there's more to see as I'm going back to watch more 2011 films next weekend as I need a bit of a break and chill to watch films at home.

Alex Withrow said...

Good stuff here. The majority of your picks will be on my Top 10 list as well. Love seeing Shame here.

thevoid99 said...

@Alex-Thank you. It will probably change in the coming months as I'm trying to catch up on the films that are coming out.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful "unofficial" list!

I finally decided to make one myself, with the difference that I doubt I'll get back and do another one when the "2011" movies finally have reached Sweden.

There are a few movies on your list that I haven't seen, but I really look forward to to catch up on, movies such as We need to talk about Kevin, The Descendants, 50/50 and Take Shelter. I figure they'll turn up on my 2012 list instead.

I wasn't quite as crazy about Tree of Life as most other bloggers. Perhaps I could take it to my heart more if I watched it a few more times. But I agree on that the cosmic pictures and score were stunningly beautiful, so while not in the top 10, it's still one of the most memorable movies from the year.

thevoid99 said...

@Jessica-That's why I said "unofficial" because there's a lot of films I want to see and I have a list of films from 2011 that I'm dying to see.